Chapter 19: Secrets and Oaths

Sebastian's Room, Hamershal Estate, Wizarding World...

Sebastian had been unconscious when they brought him back to his room. Hermione had elected to stay be his side with a promise of updating everyone on his condition as soon as he recovered. That had been enough to convince the others to leave them in peace. The sandy brown haired Gryffindor witch had not taken her sad amber colored eyes off the sleeping raven haired Slytherin since she had sat down. His pale chest had been bare after she had used her wand to remove his blood stained shirt. She had also taken the liberty of taking off his boots in an effort to make him more comfortable. Sebastian had more scars added to his now impressive collection but on the whole he had been alright. She had no idea how the hex had effected him mentally. Jarvis Hamershal was his blood relative and he had meant to cause him serious harm. If this had been what his long lost family had been like, the young raven haired wizard had been much better off on his own.

"I'm so sorry Sebastian." said Hermione softly running her hand along his bare chest. "I know you didn't imagine this evening going like this."

If he had heard her he made no indication that he had. He seemed to be miles away.

{Sebastian Prince found himself standing over bruised and broken form of a man he had hardly knew. He had been unable to move as his blood pooled around him. The man looked up at him with pain in his eyes. Sebastian had not seemed moved by the display. His emotion had been cold and his reflexes quick.

The Dark Lord Voldemort had been present. He approved from the shadows as he watched Sebastian put away his wand and walk back to the long row of wizards wearing silver masks and long gray robes. }

Hermione watched as Sebastian shifted some and groaned in his sleep. Whatever he had been dreaming of it could not have been good.

{ Sebastian found himself kneeling before The Dark Lord. Fear and Apprehension had been swirling inside him but he pushed it down. The despot's red eyes glowed with fury that he had never seen before. His tone cut through the raven haired wizard like a knife. He waved his wand with speed that matched his fury.

"You have failed me!" said The Dark Lord glaring at Sebastian. "Crucio!"

The raven haired wizard had found that he could not lift his eyes and before he knew it his body seized with intense agony. There was no blood but it felt as if every single nerve-ending within his body had been set ablaze by a searing white hot pain that could scarcely be described.

"Failure is not acceptable!" ranted the dark lord. "Crucio!"

Another jolt of pain shot through Sebastian.

The Dark Lord proceeded to teach Sebastian a very valuable lesson about how costly and not to mention how painful mistakes can be. The raven haired wizard had heard him loud and clear.

Any mistake no matter how small was unacceptable. It could also mean the difference between life and death. }

Hermione had been trying without success to awaken Sebastian as he jerked and jolted in his sleep. His back arched and he seemed to be gripping the bed as a great deal of pain had coursed through him. She had no idea if it had been a side effect of the hex from earlier or something else. She remembered him moving in agony like this before but that had been when he was under the effects of an unforgivable.

"Sebastian." she said trying to rouse him. "Sebastian please wake up."

The raven haired Slytherin continued to react to whatever had a hold on him.

Hermione had been grasping at straws. She needed to wake Sebastian before he did any serious harm to himself but he had been locked in the grips of an intense night mare. Draco had told her about how he could never get him to awaken from them and how terrifying they had been even from his side of it all. He could only imagine what it had been like for Sebastian. Hermione suddenly leaned down and captured his pale lips in a chaste kiss.

Sebastian stopped struggling at the warmth of the contact and opened his eyes. Obsidian met amber as Hermione pulled back getting a look at him. His raven hair had been blasted with sweat and stuck to his face. His lean and pale frame had been soaked as well. He looked up at her confused for a moment.

"Hermione?" he said weak.

Seeing her made him smile a bit despite his condition.

"You have me worried sick about you, Slytherin Git." she said. "I told you this duel was a terrible idea."

Sebastian's reply came in the form of a weak laugh.

"Insufferable know-it-all." he said in a low tone.

He reached up and stroked her cheek noting the worry in her eyes.

"How long was I out?" he asked.

"Nearly two hours." replied Hermione.

"So I haven't missed dinner." he said.

"No." replied Hermione. "But, I think you should stay in bed."

Sebastian scoffed.

"Of course you do." he said. "Gryffindors."

His obsidian eyes scanned the bedroom for a moment. It had a seemingly familiar set up. Thick forest green wall paper lined the walls and equally green carpet had been on the floor with swirl patterns. The furniture had been mahogany wood colored and the bed he had been lying in was covered with a green blanket and crisp black sheets. Apparently the room had been fit for a Slytherin. He turned his attention back to a worried Hermione.

"I will be attending dinner this evening." he announced. "I suggest you in form the others that all is well, or Draco will have a conniption fit."

Hermione glared at him for a moment. She didn't understand why he wanted to do this given that he had already been too weak to even sit up.

"Sebastian." she said.

"I'm going to dinner Hermione." he said coolly. "Jarvis' little attack is not going to stop me...if anything I owe him for reminding me of something I had forgotten in the wake of my memory loss."

"Thank him?" asked Hermione stunned by his manner. "He tried to kill you."

Sebastian shook his head. He looked at her for a moment and considered his response.

"What Jarvis did was underhanded and vicious...yes...but the true party at fault is myself." he said in an emotionless tone. "He had already been angry and irrational before I left him on the floor after our duel...I should have known that he would try something like that...I should have determined from his demeanor during battle that he had been attempting something...I did not and suffered the consequences for my failure to assess the situation properly."

Hermione shook her head. This had been Slytherin philosophy at its finest.

"But..." she started still trying to find a way to get him to see the injustice in this.

Sebastian held up his hand to stop her.

"Mistakes are costly." said Sebastian. "I am fortunate that the mistake I made did not cost me my life...in the heat of battle I will not be so careless I assure...more importantly showing weakness to an enemy is equally unacceptable...so I am attending this dinner."

Hermione seemed to understand this. She had not been very sure she agreed with most of what he said but she could understand not wanting to show any signs of weakness in the face of an enemy.

"I understand." she replied conceding defeat.

Sebastian gave her a weak smile.

"I did not doubt that you would." he replied. "Do not worry Hermione, I am in no way excusing Jarvis for this...but at the moment it appears he is all out of surprise attacks...I wouldn't take much to disarm him at this point...he may have attended Drumstrag institute, but he's as guilt ridden as you Gryffindors."

Hermione couldn't help but smile at this assessment. Sebastian had been alright and that was all she had wanted, well that and a little pay back on Jarvis for what he did to him.

"I'll go tell the others." she said.

Sebastian nodded.

She left him to the thoughts that he seemed to loose himself in.

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The Halls, Hamershal Manor, Wizarding World...

Draco had been pacing the halls with his arms folded across his chest. He had wanted to rip Jarvis apart with his bare hands. Harry had been worried as well hoping that he and Draco's combined efforts had truly restored their friend. Ron had even been worried recalling his own attack on the raven haired Slytherin. Ginny had thought it all so sad. She knew that Hermione had been in love with Sebastian from the look on her face when he had been lying in a pool of his own blood.

Hermione walked out of Sebastian's room and had been stunned to find that everyone had just been standing out in the hall. It seemed that they had all seemed to have been lost in their respective thoughts swaying between worst and best case scenarios. She closed the door behind her and they all looked in her direction crowding her immediately for information.

"Hermione!" they all said in unison. "How's Sebastian."

Hermione had been touched that all her friends had seemed to care a great deal about Sebastian.

She held up her hand to get them to calm down.

"He's fine." she replied. "He woke up a few moments ago and he says he'll be at dinner."

Harry and Ron looked at each other with the same stunned expression.

They couldn't imagine going to dinner after going through what Sebastian had.

"A-Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Harry with an arched brow.

"He could still be hurt." added Ron actually showing concern for once.

"He did look pretty bad." agreed Ginny surprised by Ron's concern and at the same time her notion of agreeing with him.

Hermione looked at Draco.

He had not seemed all that surprised by what he had been told.

She could tell that he had been relieved to hear that his brother had made a seemingly full recovery. No one had known that he had been grasping at straws when he pulled the memory of how Professor Snape had saved him from that hex before. Given his physical state during that time, he had not been sure he recalled it correctly.

"Makes sense." he replied finally at ease. "I would not have expected anything less."

Hermione shook her head. She may occasionally think like a Slytherin, but she would never truly understand the way their wicked and twisted minds worked.

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The Dining Hall, Hamershal Manor, Wizarding World...

The Dining Hall had been this rather large and elegant room with a table that seemed to go on for miles. The walls had been wood finished and the flooring hard wood as well but highly polished so that their reflections could be seen as they strode across it to get to their seats. The dining furniture had been like something one would expect from a woman of Lady Hamershal station, elegant oval backed chairs, white with gold trim, surrounded the table. The table top had been white marble like the stairs and lined with gold trim as well.

The Hogwarts students sat down treated to a lesson in the art of finery as they looked upon the setting. Expensive crystal glass, white china plates, sterling sliver, silverware, and vases of gold holding white roses lined the table. They had each decided to make an impression by transfiguring their regular clothes into something more formal for the occasion. Draco had simply chosen a better version of his already formal attire. Jarvis had seemed to reason along similar lines, wearing a formal navy blue suit to diner.

He had not said a word as he took his seat amid angry glares and quiet criticism. Hermione had observed that Sebastian had been correct in his assessment of how the younger wizard had felt about what he had done. All of the charm and confidence that he had oozed before had been gone and only sadness and regret filled him.

Draco watched him intently. If that pompous twit made any sort of move he would be ready. The little incident had put him on high alert as well. There was not a chance that he would give the prat a chance at a repeat performance. Ron had done his best not to judge the younger wizard too harshly. He had been in his shoes not to long ago but he had the fortune of befriending Harry and Hermione for years, they knew that he had not meant anything by his antics. He had just been insanely jealous of Sebastian being with Hermione. At the time he had not known why she had been so smitten with the raven haired Slytherin. He supposed that it had not truly sank in about how much she cared for him until today.

Ginny had been quiet mostly looking around. She wore a formal pink dress with white lace trim and her hair had been down. She had liked the younger wizard before his senseless attack on Sebastian. As with all true Gryffindors she felt a small pang of sympathy for Jarvis. He had been surrounded by infamous strangers and when he tried to make an impression it back fired. She didn't doubt that was what lead to his underhandedness in the end.

Harry tried not to look in Jarvis' direction. He too wore a suit but his had been an intelligent gray. The green eyed wizard had been quite upset about what he had done to Sebastian and didn't trust himself not to cast the hex on the younger wizard himself. He and Draco knew better than any one the devastating effect that the hex could have on someone. A brief flashback had pulled him into another time.

{Harry's heart had been pounding in his chest. The rhythm likened to a drum as he chased after the figures clad in black. Time had no presence and logic had been damned. He knew that there were at least five of them. He knew that they had all been well studied in the Dark arts, he had even known that he wasn't even close to having a ghost of a chance against them but the rage had been burning too intensely for him to bend to the reality of what was certain.

He caught up to them. His chest pounding and his lungs burning. The word enemy seemed to jump out at him from within the pages of The Half-Blood Prince's book. He continued on the word flashing in his mind again and again as the picture of his enemy formed beneath the smoke of his burning rage that clouded his thoughts.

He had been pale and draped in all black.

"SNAPE!" shouted Harry irate and heartbroken. "HE TRUSTED YOU...SNAPE!"

The ebony billowing robes of The Potions Master flew in the breeze that seemed to settle over them. A bitter coldness that could only be marked by the extinguishing of another's life hung in the air. Harry continued on with murderous intent behind his gleaming green eyes. He had all but forgotten that Snape had not been alone.

As far as he had been concerned it had not mattered. They could all kill him and he would be done with it as long as he got Snape in the end. The irate green eyed young wizard cast hex after hex in the direction of his former Professor. Filled with only hatred now Harry lifted his wand recalling the devastating effects of the spell on Draco Malfoy. After suffering a hex from the end of Bellatrix LeStrange's wand Snape had convinced her to leave him alone. A fact that had not registered with Harry at the time.

"Sectum...!" he started to shout.

Harry was met with counter after counter.

"Sectumsempra!" he shouted then found himself on the ground after yet another block by Snape.

The pale wizard had been rather irate when he advanced upon his green eyed former student.

"Y-You dare use my own spells against me, Potter?" he had said in an icy tone.

Harry had only just now seen the look of absolute rage behind his obsidian eyes. The shock of his words had rendered him speechless. Snape glared at him with his rage barely concealed despite the situation. It was an odd thing as he had no reason to do so with what he'd already done, Dumbledore was gone so why was he holding back?

"Yes." he said still in a tone of ice. "I am The Half-Blood Prince."}

Coming back to himself Harry focused on a crystal picture of water sitting in front of him. He poured himself a glass in an effort to distract himself from his memories. All eyes had been on Sebastian Prince when he arrived alone just after Jarvis had. He wore a black suit, clearly deciding on formal attire as well. His raven hair had been pulled back into a ponytail, a usual whenever he dressed up, tied back with a black ribbon. He seemed no worse for wear as he took an empty seat that had been next to Hermione, who wore a dress similar to the one she wore for The Yule Ball when Victor Krum had been her date. Only now it had been red.

Sebastian had been quite appreciative of her sandy brown locks being done in an elegant ponytail similar to something Lady Hamershal would no doubt have done. She wore no make-up aside from a bit of lipstick, also red in color. He smiled at her approvingly. Her cheeks turned red when she noted the heat behind his obsidian eyes.

Ron had been eyeing the table more focused on food. His suit had been the only kindness Draco had ever showed him. It was a nice brown color transfigured by the Slytherin himself. Ron had been utterly grateful to him for the assistance. the junior Malfoy rolled his eyes and simply stated that it was only done because they wanted to make a good show of support for Sebastian. Whatever the reason Ron had just been glad he did not look like a total fool.

"Everyone looks so nice." said Ginny taking a shot at breaking the ice.

Her words were met with polite smiles. After a matter of minutes Jiles and the servants entered the room. He held a large wooden door open and stood up straight. Sebastian got up from his seat and walked over to the head of the table. The others looked at him in confusion. Moments later Lady Hamershal appeared draped from head to toe in all black. She wore one of her usual Victorian era dresses with a high ruffle collar. Her hair had been done in a similar fashion to Narcissa Malfoy's. Her dark eyes scanned the room. Everyone had done their best to make a good impression. Jarvis sat quietly not wishing to meet her eyes. She wondered what he had been up to while she had been working. It seemed he had been out of sorts with the others during the rest of their time alone.

Pushing the rising questions out of her mind she turned her attention to the raven haired young wizard that had come to see her to her seat.

"My Lady." said Sebastian offering his arm in a chivalrous manner.

She looped her arm in his and they made their way to the table. Sebastian pulled her seat out and waited for her to be seated. He helped her adjust her chair and took his place back beside Hermione.

"Well." said Lady Hamershal looking them all over. "I suppose we all know each other."

The group nodded.

"Does anyone have any news?" she asked looking back n forth between them all.

"None that comes to mind." supplied Sebastian cutting off anyone's opportunity to tell her about the duel.

Jarvis looked up at him confused. He had been almost sure that someone would have informed his mother of his inappropriate conduct.

Lady Hamershal sighed.

"Shall we dine then?" she asked.

Everyone nodded.

"Jiles, bring on the first course." she said to the silent butler.

Jiles did as she instructed. Everyone began eating and settled into a quiet silence exchanging glances with each other as they polished off the meal that had been graciously prepared. After a while Sebastian told them all about a new potion he had been working on for the Weasley brothers. Apparently Fred and George wanted a potion that would allow the user to experience different types of body temperatures without actually changing the climate in the room for anyone else. The potential for ingenious pranks had been numerous and it had been the reason the brothers wanted this potion. Ron had shook his head in embarrassment. His brothers had always seemed to be up to no good.

Diner had passed by relatively quickly after that.

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Harry Potter's Room, Hamershal Manor, Wizarding World...

Harry Potter had been wide awake lying in the center of the enormous plush bed in the room that he had chosen for himself in the vast estate. It had been a nice room, certainly more appealing than some of the places he's had to sleep over the years. The walls had been covered in thick light blue wallpaper, and the furniture had been light brown. The carpet on the floor below had even been blue and imprinted with an odd swirl pattern. The bed had been covered with a large light blue blanket with crisp white sheets. Even the pillows had been plush and also white.

The boy who lived had been staring up at the ceiling in the darkness of the strange room for nearly an hour.

He had not been able to get why Lady Hamershal had looked so familiar out of his mind.

Dinner had been rather strange. She seemed to watch Sebastian and Hermione rather attentively for much of the meal. If he had not known any better then he would have said that she didn't seem to approve of the relationship. Her protectiveness of Sebastian might have been the reason but there was always a sense of her knowing something that no one else had been privy to.

When sleep still had not come for the dark haired green eyed wizard, he decided to take a walk to clear his head. He could not get why this thing with Lady Hamershal had been bothering him so much but there was still something about her. None of the information they had found out about the woman seemed to put his wandering mind at ease.

Harry climbed out of bed and made his way into the hall. He had hoped his night travels would not disturb the others but he truly could not sleep. Despite being unable to sleep, he had been quite tired and had no real desire to have to speak with any one of his friends who's concern for him would border along the lines of over bearing.

He passed the room Ginny had been in pausing to give it one longing glance and continued on. He passed the room that Draco had been in quickly, he had wanted no parts of a newly awakened Draco Malfoy. They may have an understanding of sorts but Draco had still been every bit the Prat Harry detested, especially in the mornings.

Harry made his way passed Sebastian's door. He had got the feeling the raven haired wizard was yet to turn in. He passed Hermione's door with as much speed as he had Draco's. If what he had interrupted earlier was any indication he did not want to be outside her door at this time. It was hard enough to accept the fact that Hermione had been like any other girl with thoughts and feelings, not just some human fact machine and idea pool.

The last room he passed had been the one Ron had occupied. Harry wasn't surprised to hear the sound of Ron's snoring. The red haired wizard could call hogs on the best of days. The dark haired, green eyed wizard continued passed heading into the other parts of the manor.

It was going to be a long night.

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Study Hall, Hamershal Manor, Wizarding World...

Lady Theodora Hamershal had been wide awake as well. Her appearance had been as severe as it had been when Jarvis interrupted her while she worked in her lab. Her raven hair lank in it's appearance and pulled back in a messy ponytail. The paleness of her skin had been more defined and her sallow cheeks held no poise of elegance. She had been staring at what appeared to be the photograph of an infant. The condition of the photo had been worn and it was in black & white. Streams of tears fell down her cheeks as she gazed at it with both a sense of sorrow and longing. The air of superiority had been gone out of her as the weight of her sorrow threatened to break the collective hold she had upon herself.

"My son." she said softly gazing at the photo.

A stream of apologies had come rushing out of her as she continued to look into the obsidian eyes of the child in the photo. He had looked a great deal like her. They both had the same raven hair and sallow cheeks. The baby had not appeared to be very happy, but a look of curiosity had been behind it's eyes.

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The Hallway, Hamershal Manor, Wizarding World...

Harry had been on his way back up to his room. He had not been completely able to rid himself of the intrusive thoughts but he had been quite exhausted. He reasoned that it would have been better to get back into bed before he fell over somewhere. The green eyed wizard entered a hall not exactly sure how to make it back to his room when he heard the sound of crying. He kept walking until he reached a room where the door had been left slightly ajar.

Curious, he took a chance to peak inside, careful to test it before he had. There had been no wards or anything and for that he had been glad. He doubted he could have explained how he ended up thrown around in the middle of the night. His green eyes took in the sight of Lady Hamershal in the state similar to how she had been before dinner. He thought she looked eerily like Professor Snape with her back to the door and her shoulders hunched over a table.

She seemed to be studying something.

Harry had only been watching her for a moment before he heard the sound of her broken voice over break the silence.

"Are you lost, Mr. Potter?" she had asked not making any attempt to turn around.

Harry had not know what to say. He didn't anticipate being caught in the first place and had no contingency plan should it happen, which left him stammering as a result.

"I-I was just..." he started.

"You were being who you are." replied Lady Hamershal in a surprisingly understanding manner. "Well, don't just stand there, come in."

Harry straightened himself and made his way inside the study. He had been caught by surprise when he noted all the pictures and articles pertaining to Professor Snape.

"If you don't mind my asking." said Harry boldly. "Why do you have all this stuff about Professor Snape?"

Lady Hamershal turned to him. Harry had been stunned to see that she had been crying.

"Severus is...family." she replied. "But that is a topic for another time...you came here about Sebastian did you not?"

Harry had once again been stunned at her perception.

"Y-Yes." he replied. "I-I want to know why you have taken a sudden interest in him...even before you knew him as family."

Lady Hamershal suddenly waved her wand.

Harry noted that she had cast a silencing charm and locked the door.

"I want your oath that you will not reveal what I am about to discuss with you, not even to Sebastian." she said serious.

Harry looked at her for a moment. It was clear that whatever it was that she was about to tell him had been serious. He could see that it had been important enough for her to ask for his oath. He didn't like not being able to tell anyone about what she would reveal to him concerning Sebastian but he reasoned that if at least he knew then he could help his friend if needed.

"You have my oath that I will not reveal anything you tell me." replied Harry. "Not even to Sebastian."

Lady Hamershal took a breath satisfied when the swirl of magic signaled the oath had been sealed. She gestured to an empty chair and Harry took it watching her closely.

"You asked me why I took responsibility for Sebastian." she said evenly taking the other available chair.

Harry nodded.

"Yes." he said.

"It's simple really." replied Lady Hamershal in an even tone. "I took responsibility for him because he is my son."

Harry blinked unsure if he had heard her right.

"I beg your pardon?" he asked.

"You heard me right, Mr. Potter." replied Lady Hamershal in the same tone. "Sebastian, is my son Mr. Potter."

Harry looked at her with his green eyes wide.

"S-Sebastian is..." he said not over the shock. "He's your son?"

Lady Hamershal nodded.

"I met his father when I was very young." she said. "He had been the most charming and curiously read man that I have ever met."

Harry suppressed his shock and listened giving her his full attention.

"As I said before we were quite young." said Lady Hamershal. "When we became intimate, I became pregnant and we wed."

Harry took this in.

"Sebastian, was born and things seemed to be settling quite nicely." said Lady Hamershal. "But then..."

Harry noticed the look of sorrow behind her eyes.

"Then things started to change." he said understanding.

"Y-Yes." replied Lady Hamershal. "Sebastian's father became abusive and resented both of us."

Harry thought for a moment.

"So is Professor Snape, Sebastian's father?" he asked.

"No." replied Lady Hamershal. "Sebastian's father was a man of Muggle birth."

Harry nodded.

He had been relieved that Snape had not been the abusive man in the tale.

"The beatings had been so bad that I could hardly imagine going through another day in that life." said Lady Hamershal. "I had to get out...but I didn't want to leave my son."

"Because you're a Pureblood." said Harry seeming to get the picture she'd been painting with her words.

Lady Hamershal nodded.

"When he started attending school, I simply endured in a bit to bide my time." said Lady Hamershal. "I took the worst of the abuse if only to spare him...and possibly to punish myself for what I was about to do."

Harry looked at her as a realization dawned on him.

"You left him." he said in disbelief. "You left him with his father."

Lady Hamershal shook her head.

"You're only half right Mr. Potter." she replied evenly. "I did leave my son, but I left him in the care of the school he was attending...Once he was old enough I made my return to the wizarding world...and to my family."

Harry had been quite upset. He had realized now why she had wanted the oath from him. No doubt Sebastian would become very angry once he found out that his mother had left him with an abusive bastard to save herself.

"They accepted me back...but stated that if I were to return to the fold...I would have to give up all rights to my first born child." said Lady Hamershal. "Upon my return my old friend Fredrick had asked for my hand in marriage...after he and I wed...I fully intended to reclaim my son...I even had my new husband's blessing..."

"But?" asked Harry sensing it was somewhere on the horizon.

"The dark lord had sent the wizarding world into the first war." replied Lady Hamershal. "Fredrick had been killed when he refused to support Voldemort as a pureblood...he was labeled a blood traitor...and tortured to death...It was then that I met that Order of Phoenix...your parents had been apart of everything then...such a young couple...they seemed helplessly in love..."

Harry had softened at the mention of his parents.

"My the time I had been able to locate him...the second wizarding war had occurred." continued Lady Hamershal. "I had already had Jarvis and worked quite closely with the Order of Phoenix for a second time in a bid to rid myself of that despot Voldemort as well...once could only imagine my horror when I found out that my first born son had been within that creature's dark clutches..."

Harry looked at her in disbelief.

"S-Sebastian was working with Voldemort?" he asked.

"He served him like all death eaters." replied Lady Hamershal in an emotionless tone. "He had not been at fault for his actions...I had left him alone in a world gone mad...Voldemort used his loneliness to lure him to his ranks...It was a wonder that Dumbledore had been able to save him. all these years..."

"Dumbledore knew you were Sebastian's mother?" asked Harry thinking back to his visit with The Headmaster.

"Yes." replied Lady Hamershal. "The candy happy old fool practically adopted him."

Harry found himself smiling a little at this.

"He deserves to know the truth." said the green eyed boy.

Lady Hamershal nodded.

"That he does." she replied. "And I will tell him...in time."

Harry sighed.

"Well, Mr. Potter I believe that you should be getting off to bed now." she said getting to her feet.

Harry got to his as well.

"You should tell him." had been the final words he left her with before he headed out the door and back toward his rooms.

Lady Hamershal turned her attention back to the photo of what appeared to be an infant Sebastian.

"If it were only that easy." she replied to no one in particular.

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Harry's room, Hamershal Estate, Wizarding World...

It had been hard to believe that Lady Hamershal had been the mother of Sebastian Prince. Harry had a hard time digesting that bit of news from the previous night. He had been bound by a wizarding oath not to tell the raven haired young wizard about this, but that didn't mean he believed keeping the truth from his friend had been right.

Sebastian had turned up at Hogwarts alone and badly injured from what Harry understood. They had guessed correctly that the raven haired Slytherin's mother had been attacked by death eaters and that she had been separated in the ensuing attack. Or at least that's what Lady Hamershal had told him. Harry had not bought the whole of her story, he had known that most people only told half truths anyway.

The dark haired green eyed wizard climbed out of bed still fighting sleep as he greeted the morning. He still couldn't believe that Lady Hamershal was Sebastian's mother. More importantly, Jarvis Hamershal had been his half-brother. Somehow Harry didn't think any of this was going to sit well with the raven haired wizard.